Fund Firms Hope New Hook
Will Reel in Potential Investors

Mutual-fund companies have begun to sell their wares the way consumer-goods companies market cereal and laundry detergent.

Fund firms increasingly are abandoning drab, number-laden ads for more emotional appeals and are expanding their menus of advice-giving services, all in a high-profile bid to stand out from a swelling crowd of competitors and reel in new investors.